


Novel Idea

by astraplain



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 17:26:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4230546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astraplain/pseuds/astraplain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kurt’s first meeting with his favorite author doesn’t go as planned. Neither does the second.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Novel Idea

“Mr. Crawford… Hello.” Kurt fumbled with the book for a moment before setting it on the table. “I’m Kurt… Hummel. I mean… Kurt. Oh! With a ‘K’.”

“Hello Kurt with a ‘K’.” Adam Crawford smiled brightly, eyes taking in Kurt’s pink-tinged cheeks and nervous fidgeting. “Like the Komodo dragon is it?” Adam used the pen to tap at his own chest and it took Kurt a long, flustered moment to realize that Adam was referring to Kurt’s pin. He had the whole set now, after months of judicious budgeting. Although the hippo was his favorite, the tiny wooden plaque with a fake Komodo dragon head was rapidly moving up to second place.

“Oh! Not really I…” He watched as Adam signed his book complete with an inscription that read: To Kurt, the most attractive Komodo dragon I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. –Adam Crawford

“Thank you.” Kurt clutched the book helplessly, despairing at his sudden inability to form a complete sentence. He’d been looking forward to this moment for weeks and now it was about to end without his having uttered a single word of his carefully prepared remarks.

“Thank you for reading my book,” Adam reached out and shook Kurt’s hand, letting the contact linger for a moment before the next person in line cleared their throat. Slowly, Adam released Kurt’s hand, giving him one last look before turning his attention to the impatient gentleman.

Kurt trudged away, sternly forbidding himself from looking back until the last possible moment. It may have been a trick of the light, but he thought, just for a moment, that Adam was looking his way, but then Adam’s head was down and he was signing another book and the moment was truly over.

With a sigh, Kurt started the long journey home.

+++++

“This is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever done,” Kurt muttered as he slipped the envelope into the post office slot. “Writing fan letters to the man when you made an idiot of yourself at that book signing.”

It was all the Komodo dragon’s fault. If he hadn’t been scouting the zoo for possible locations for one of Vogue.com’s photoshoots he never would have seen the large lizard in his nest, well hidden from casual view. He’d tried telling people but they all brushed him off so he’d taken it upon himself to read up on the lizard’s diet and take it some food, hoping to get some photos as proof.

Not that it had done any good. The pictures had been dismissed as fakes and he’d been waved off without an iota of consideration for all his efforts.

The letter he’d just mailed was an act of desperation. If Adam Crawford, author of the best-selling “Extraordinary Adventures” series didn’t believe him then Kurt would let the Komodo dragon to its own devices and make sure to keep the photoshoot well away from that part of the zoo.

It would have been easier to send an email to Adam’s official address, but it was likely to get lost among the usual fan chatter. Kurt hoped an actual handwritten letter would draw more attention, even if it meant he’d have to keep an eye on the dragon for a few more days. The meat he kept giving it seemed to encourage it to stay close to its’ nest but that didn’t help Kurt’s nerves much. He preferred animals in the form of accessories.

A soft chime on his phone warned that it was almost time for his meeting with Isabelle. He’d need all of his acting training to sell the Komodo dragon-free area of the zoo as the best location for their photoshoot.

+++++

“He wrote back!” Kurt’s hands shook a little as he used the silver letter opener to slice open the heavy cream colored envelope with Adam Crawford’s name in the upper left corner.

The single sheet of paper was hand-written and addressed to “My favorite Komodo dragon wrangler” and contained the single line: “Call me.” Followed by Adam’s signature and a phone number.

Desperately hoping that he wasn’t about to be the victim of a prank, Kurt dialed the number. It was answered on the second ring and Kurt recognized Adam’s voice from the cheerful ‘hello?’

“Mr. Crawford, this is Kurt. Hummel. Kurt—“ Wonderful. Kurt rolled his eyes at his inability to talk to this man. Thankfully Adam didn’t have the same difficulty.

“Komodo Dragon Kurt is it? You got my note.” There was rustling in the background and then Adam’s voice went softer. “I was hoping you’d call. Do you still want to show me your friend?”

“The dragon?” Oh thank goodness, Kurt breathed a sigh of relief at managing to string two words together. “I do. I mean, I would.”

“I would too,” Adam’s voice was warm and tinged with humor but Kurt knew that Adam wasn’t laughing at him or mocking him. A little of his nervousness eased. “Now, perhaps?”

“What? I… You want me to show you the Komodo dragon now?”

“If you have the time? If not, just tell me when and I’ll be there.”

“No, no. Now is fine. Do you want to meet me there?”

“Actually, I’m not far from your address. Would you mind if we met there?”

“Here?” Kurt squeaked, scanning the loft for anything not suitable for guests – especially Adam Crawford to see. Fortunately he’d learned to keep his space tidy and incriminating items well hidden as a form of self-preservation years ago. “Sure.” Then he had a flash of inspiration. “I’ll meet you at the curb and we can go now – it’s almost feeding time.”

“I’ll be there soon,” Adam promised and Kurt was almost positive that the man hadn’t made a happy squeeing noise.

+++++

“Hello, Kurt,” Adam emerged from the town car long enough to greet Kurt with an enthusiastic handshake before motioning for him to get into the car. Adam climbed in after and eyed the insulated bag that Kurt had brought. “Is that dinner?”

“Not for us, hopefully,” Kurt answered with a grin before blushing and looking away. The driver eased the car into traffic and Kurt and Adam rode in uncomfortable silence for a few blocks before Adam dropped his head back against the seat and laughed.

“Please forgive me, Kurt. I’m terrible at the whole meeting people and holding conversations. I either babble like an idiot or can’t think of a thing to say.”

“You’re fine,” Kurt assured him, turning his body toward Adam to let him see how sincere he was in his admiration of the man. “I’m the one who can’t manage a sentence whenever we meet.”

“You managed just fine right there,” Adam pointed out with a gentle smile, reaching out to take Kurt’s hand. He studied it for a moment, lightly tracing the lines on Kurt’s palm. When he looked up, his eyes were serious. “You’re destined for great things, Kurt, but you need more adventure in your life.”

“I think you have your lines crossed. I have more than enough adventure right now, auditioning for plays and working at Vogue.com. At least I don’t have to work at the diner anymore.”

“Ah, but those are challenges, not adventures. Look, we’re here. Let’s go see if your Komodo dragon can help us find a little adventure.” Adam slid out of the car easily then reached a hand in to Kurt. There was a spark of electricity as they touched, but Kurt couldn’t help but wonder if it was a warning against Adam’s casual cheerfulness.

+++++

“I knew it,” Kurt muttered again as he wrapped his arms around Adam’s waist and tried not to fall. Apparently his discovery was less Komodo and more actual dragon. With wings.

“Duck!” Adam shouted, leaning low over the dragon’s neck as they soared up over the treeline. “There’s my apartment!” Adam pointed vaguely off to the left but the dragon veered again, swooping down, possibly attempting to dislodge them, or just because he wanted to chase birds. At this point Kurt had no idea if Adam was being brave or a reckless idiot but he wasn’t about to ask. Instead, he tightened his grip again and pressed his face against Adam’s back.

“Don’t hide, Kurt. Look. You don’t want to miss—“ Adam broke off abruptly as a frantic bird nearly ran into them, turning so rapidly at the last minute that it left a handful of feathers behind. Adam nearly swallowed one.

“Helmets,” Kurt suggested, reaching out with one hand to claim one of the feathers. He held onto it as he found his grip again. “Since this guy didn’t come with a windshield.”

“That would be useful, “ Adam agreed, laughing as they shifted left to round a huge tree and soar skyward again, this time not stopping until they were well above the trees and most of the buildings. Kurt felt giddy at the sight, half-wondering if too much thin air was what had made Adam so reckless. A few more minutes of aerial acrobatics and Kurt was laughing too.

“One more round then I suppose we should go home,” Adam sounded reluctant but he was true to his word and soon they were landing neatly beside the nest. Adam slid down the dragon’s side and immediately turned to catch Kurt.

“Careful there. Take a moment until you’re steady.” Adam held on until Kurt was finally able to keep his balance. He was windblown and completely out of sorts while Adam was bright-eyed and delighted. Without thinking, Kurt leaned forward and gave Adam a hug.

“Thank you.” Adam’s eyes turned soft and his smile eased into something quieter as he rested his hand on Kurt’s face.

“Anytime,” he promised, sounding a little breathless. They stared at each other for a moment until they heard voices in the distance.

“Oh,” Kurt looked around in a panic. “What are we going to do? There’s no way people missed that performance.”

“Leave it to me,” Adam said. He quickly removed his belt from the dragon’s neck and handed Kurt his bag. When that was done, Adam hit a number on his speed dial and started talking rapidly. At the same time he motioned for Kurt to get his phone out and mouthed “Take a picture and post it on twitter. Say that you got an exclusive behind the scenes peak at a photoshoot for my next book cover and will have an interview coming up on Vogue.com.”

“Done.” Kurt reported after several minutes of rapid texting and a phone call to Isabelle.

“Me too. Now we take a few more pictures – make sure a few of them are bad shots to make it more real. My agent’s on with the police now explaining that it was a paperwork snafu and the flying was all done with special effects. We’ll have barricades up within the hour and security until the van gets here to move your dragon to a more secure location.”

“Secure?” Kurt scowled at the thought of losing his adopted dragon. “Where can you secure a flying dragon?”

“Home.” Adam shrugged. “I have an estate in Wales with plenty of room for flying and an old friend who specializes in dealing with unusual creatures.” Adam leaned in close to confide, “He’s got a pteranodon.”

“Oh.” Kurt looked down at his shoes, trying not to reveal how disappointed he was that his dragon, and most likely Adam, were going to be so far away.

“Don’t think you’re getting out of dragon keeping that easily,” Adam warned him. “Or novel writing.”

“What?” I’m sorry, I—“

“You’re the reason everyone thinks my next book is about a dragon. The least you can do is help me write the thing.”

“Me? I’m not a novelist.”

“Not yet. But you are a writer. I’ve read some of your columns.”

“You’ve read my work?”

“I have.” Adam stepped in close, speaking urgently knowing his people would be arriving soon. “What do you say, Kurt? Are you ready for an adventure?” Kurt looked from Adam to the dragon who was curled up in his nest, then up to the sky where they’d been so recently. It wasn’t like anything he’d ever imagined or planned but then neither was traveling to Wales to co-write a novel with his favorite author. With a smile Kurt stepped forward and held out his hand.

“Let’s get started.”

::end::

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179025/ )


End file.
